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Ministry of Industry and IT and Microsoft establish training classes

By Huang Zhiling (China Daily Sichuan bureau)
Updated: 2009-04-29 16:39

ZIYANG, Sichuan Province: The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Microsoft jointly established two information training classes in rural Ziyang, Sichuan Province on Tuesday.

Officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Department of Information Industry of Sichuan Province and Microsoft (China) Co Ltd, visit a training class in Linjiang Town, Ziyang, Sichuan Province on Tuesday. [Huang Zhiling]

The move was aimed at boosting informatization construction in less-developed Ziyang and helping local farmers shake off poverty through the use of information technology.

“In addition to cement and asphalt roads, farmers need the information superhighway [Internet] to become better off,” said Hong Jingyi, deputy chief of the ministry’s department in charge of the promotion of informatization.

The two training classes, located in Linjiang and Xinshi towns in Ziyang, will teach farmers how to use computers and surf the Internet in order to understand market trends.

Zhang Xiuying, a villager in Linjiang Town, told China Daily that computer use is not very common in rural Ziyang and farmers know little about information technology.

The establishment of the classes will offer a rare opportunity for farmers to learn more about computers and the latest market activity, she said.

In May 2006, Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (named Ministry of Information Technology at the time) promising to support the ministry to set up five regions, which would serve as role models for the experimentation of informatization in rural China.

On March 31, 2009, Microsoft (China) Co Ltd sent 50 computers and two projects to Sichuan, one of the five regions, to set up the two training classes in Ziyang, said Roger Chen, general manager of Corporate Image and Citizenship of Greater China Region of Microsoft (China) Co Ltd.